Technology Boosts Outdoor Ads As Competition Becomes Fiercer

TECHNOLOGY BOOSTS OUTDOOR ADS AS COMPETITION BECOMES FIERCER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Aaron O. Patrick aaron.patrick@wsj.com]
Outdoor advertising, one of the oldest forms of advertising, is reinventing itself. The $23 billion industry is introducing digital technology to change ads faster, new ways of measuring viewers, and billboards that beam information to cellphones. As a result, outdoor advertising companies -- which provide billboards, posters and video screens in public places -- are now seeing bigger gains than many competitors. Because outdoor advertising is much less expensive than TV spots, it still accounts for a smaller part of overall ad spending. But it has become the second-fastest growing form of advertising, behind the Internet, according to market-research and media-buying firms. Around the world, spending on outdoor advertising last year was $23.2 billion, up 6.1% from the year earlier, according to ZenithOptimedia, a media buyer owned by Publicis Groupe SA.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115672572723646939.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
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